Etching apparatus

ABSTRACT

An etching apparatus that includes a number of chambers having an opening that is opened to move in or discharge a substrate, an injection member that is installed inside each chamber to inject a chemical liquid, and an interception member that is adjacently installed at the opening of each chamber and sucks gas introduced into the opening.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0124092 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 14, 2009, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The described technology relates generally to an etching apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Etching methods have been widely used in the manufacturing of flat panel display panels and semiconductors.

Etching methods include a dip etching scheme in which a substrate is dipped in an etching solution and etched, and a shower etching scheme in which an etching solution is sprayed on the substrate to be etched.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

The described technology has been made in an effort to provide an etching apparatus that is capable of reducing the occurrence of defects in an etching process.

An etching apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment includes: a plurality of chambers each having an opening for flowing in or discharging a substrate; an injection member that is installed inside each chamber to inject a chemical liquid; and an interception member that is adjacently installed at the opening of each chamber and draws introduced gas into the opening.

An acid outlet may be installed in the chamber to suck the fumes generated in the chamber, and the interception member may be formed in a pipe shape in which a plurality of suction holes are formed. Further, the opening is formed in a quadrangular shape having a width direction and a height direction, and the interception member is disposed along the width direction of the opening and the suction holes are disposed to be spaced along the width direction of the opening.

The interception member may be installed on the opening in the chamber, the opening is an outlet through which the substrate is discharged, and the interception member is disposed adjacent to the outlet.

The opening may include an inlet through which the substrate is flowed in, the interception member may be disposed adjacent to the inlet, the opening may include the inlet through which the substrate is flowed in and the outlet through which the substrate is discharged, and the interception member may be installed at a portion adjacent to the inlet and the outlet, respectively.

The interception member may be installed with a cover that covers the interception member, and the upper surface of the cover may be formed to be tilted with respect to the ground. In addition, the chambers may include the etching chamber in which the etching process is performed and the buffer chamber in which the substrate is temporarily held and the etching chamber and the buffer chamber may each include the inlet through which the substrate is flowed in and the outlet through which the substrate is discharged, wherein the interception member may be installed at a portion adjacent to the inlet of the etching chamber and the interception member may be installed at a portion adjacent to the outlet of the buffer chamber.

The chambers may include the etching chamber in which the etching process is performed and the buffer chamber in which the substrate is temporarily held, the etching chamber and the buffer chamber each may include the inlet through which the substrate is flowed in and the outlet through which the substrate is discharged, and the interception member may be installed at a portion adjacent to the inlet and outlet of the etching chamber, respectively, and the interception member may be installed at a portion adjacent to the outlet of the buffer chamber.

According to the exemplary embodiment, the interception member is installed inside the chamber of the etching apparatus to intercept the fumes generated from the adjacent chamber from being introduced into other chambers, making it possible to reduce the occurrence of the etching defects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention, and many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a configuration view showing the etching apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the first chamber according to the first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an interception member according to a first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a configuration view showing an etching apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a configuration view showing an etching apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

In the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In the specification, the word “on” will be understood as positioned on or below a subject member, and does not necessarily mean as positioned on the upper part based on the gravity direction.

Recognizing that sizes and thicknesses of constituent members shown in the accompanying drawings are arbitrarily given for better understanding and ease of description, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated sizes and thicknesses.

In the drawings, the thickness of layers, films, panels, regions, etc., are exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification. It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. Alternatively, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present.

In order to clarify the present invention, elements extrinsic to the description are omitted from the details of this description, and like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

In several exemplary embodiments, constituent elements having the same configuration are representatively described in a first exemplary embodiment by using the same reference numeral and only constituent elements other than the constituent elements described in the first exemplary embodiment will be described in other embodiments.

Conventional dipping etching schemes have low thickness uniformity over an entire area of a substrate, decreases the etching rate as compared to an initial substrate etching rate, and needs a large liquid bath containing an etching solution, such that it has disadvantages in that maintenance and the removal of generated sludge is difficult.

Further, conventional shower etching scheme have a problem in that over etching is generated or a smear is generated on the substrate when the etching solution is not uniformly sprayed.

A conventional shower etching apparatus may be configured to include a buffer chamber, an etching chamber, a washing chamber, a dry chamber, etc. The etching solution used in the etching apparatus is a mixture of an inorganic acid, hydrogen peroxide, etc., and generates fumes during the etching process. In order to discharge the fumes, the etching apparatus in the related art has an acid outlet for each etching section. However, when the etching apparatus has a plurality of etching chambers and they are not all used, the fumes introduced into a non-used chamber from a neighboring process chamber may condense in the structure and then drip down. When the drip of the condensed fumes falls onto the substrate, an etching defect occurs. In addition, even when using all the etching chambers, the fumes are introduced into a buffer chamber before entering the etching section, thereby making it possible to generate an etching defect.

FIG. 1 is a configuration view showing the etching apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment.

An etching apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of chambers 101, 102, 103, and 104, wherein the chambers 101, 102, 103, and 104 are configured to include a first chamber 101, a second chamber 102, a third chamber 103, and a fourth chamber 104 that are sequentially arranged. The first chamber 101 is a buffer chamber in which a substrate 121, which is an etching subject, is held, and the second chamber 102, the third chamber 103, and the fourth chamber 104 are the etching chamber in which the etching is performed. The substrate 121 is transferred to the fourth chamber 104 via the second chamber 102 and the third chamber 103 from the first chamber 101.

The present exemplary embodiment illustrates the case where the etching is performed only in the second chamber 102 and the etching is not performed in the third chamber 103 and the fourth chamber 104.

The chambers 101, 102, 103, and 104 are installed with an injection member 150 that injects a chemical solution into the chambers 101, 102, 103, and 104 and an interception member 130 that intercepts gas introduced into the chambers 101, 102, 103, and 104. Further, the substrate 121 for having a pattern formed thereto is installed in the chambers 101, 102, 103, and 104. The substrate 121 may be a substrate that is applied to a flat panel display such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and various kinds of substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, etc., can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the first chamber according to the first exemplary embodiment, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the second chamber 102, the third chamber 103, and the fourth chamber 104 have the same structure as the first chamber 101, and therefore the descriptions of the second chamber 102, the third chamber 103, and the fourth chamber 104 are parallel to the description of the first chamber 101 and will not be further explained.

A transfer member 125 that transfers the substrate 121, an injection member 150 that injects the chemical solution to the substrate 121, and the interception member 130 that sucks gas introduced into the first chamber 101 are included in the first chamber 101.

The first chamber 101 is formed as an approximately quadrangular chamber, and is formed with the opening through which the substrate 121 may flow or move through and be discharged through. The opening includes an inlet 112 through which the substrate 121 is flows or moves in and an outlet 113 through which the substrate is discharged. The inlet 112 and the outlet 113 may each include a shutter (not shown) that opens and closes the inlet 112 and the outlet 113.

The inlet 112 and the outlet 113 are formed as quadrangles having a width direction and a height direction. The width direction is a direction intersecting the direction of the force of gravity and the height direction is a direction parallel with the direction of the force of gravity.

The substrate 121 may have various shapes such as a quadrangular plate, a circular plate, etc. The transfer member 125 is formed as a cylindrical rod, and includes a plurality of rollers 126. The plurality of transfer members 125 that transfer the substrate 121 are installed below the substrate 121, and the substrate 121 can be introduced in the first chamber 101 or discharged from the first chamber 101 according to rotation of the transfer members 125.

The injection member 150 includes a plurality of chemical solution transfer pipes 150 a that supply the chemical solution, and a plurality of nozzles 152 that are installed at the chemical solution transfer pipes 150 a. The plurality of chemical solution transfer pipes 150 a are arranged in parallel, and the ends thereof are communicated with each other by a connection pipe 150 b to receive the chemical solution. The plurality of nozzles 152 are arranged to be spaced along the length direction of the chemical solution transfer pipes 150 a, and disperse the chemical solution to inject it to the substrate 121.

The chemical solution injected to the substrate 121 etches the substrate 121 to form fine patterns on the substrate 121.

Meanwhile, the wall surface of the chamber 101 includes an acid outlet 115 that can discharge fumes generated due to the injection of the chemical solution. The acid outlet 115 is formed as holes on the wall surface of the chamber 101, and the acid outlet 115 is connected to an exhaust line to suck the fumes generated inside the chamber 101 and to discharge them to the outside.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the interception member 130 is installed at the outlet 113 of the chamber 101 to be adjacent to the outlet 113. The interception member 130 is formed as a pipe, and the interception member 130 is formed with a plurality of suction holes 132 to suck gas introduced through the outlet 113. The interception member 130 is connected to the exhaust line, and the exhaust line is connected to a vacuum pump. Thereby, the interception member 130 is communicated with the vacuum pump and a suction pressure is generated in the suction holes 132 to suck gas therethrough.

Meanwhile, the interception member 130 is installed just on the outlet 113 based on the direction of the force of gravity and is disposed along the width direction of the outlet 113. Therefore, the suction holes 132 are disposed to be spaced along the width direction of the plurality of outlets 113. When the etching process is performed in the adjacent chamber and the etching process is not performed in the chamber 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the fumes generated in the adjacent chamber can be introduced into the chamber 101 through the outlet 113. The fumes introduced into the chamber 101 are accumulated and condensed therein, and the condensed chemical solution may drip into the substrate 121 causing etching defects in the substrate 121 previously discussed. The interception member 130 according to the present exemplary embodiment sucks and discharges the fumes introduced through the outlet 113, thereby intercepting the fumes from being introduced and accumulating into the chamber 101. Thereby, the occurrence of the etching defects due to the fumes introduced into the adjacent chambers can be prevented.

A cover 140 covers the interception member 130. The cover 140 is formed in a box like shape, and an upper plate 141 of the cover 140 is formed to be tilted with respect to the ground. The cover 140 prevents the chemical solution from contacting the interception member 130, and the tilted upper plate 141 prevents the chemical solution from being accumulated on the upper plate 141.

FIG. 6 is a configuration view showing an etching apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, an etching apparatus 200 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of chambers 201, 202, 203, and 204, and they include a first chamber 201, a second chamber 202, a third chamber 203, and a fourth chamber 204. The first chamber 201 is a buffer chamber in which the substrate 221 is held, and the second chamber 202, the third chamber 203, and the fourth chamber 204 are chambers in which the etching is performed.

A first interception member 231, which is disposed adjacent to the outlet of the first chamber 201 to intercept fumes from being introduced into the first chamber 201, is installed inside the first chamber 201 that is the buffer chamber.

Meanwhile, an injection member 250 that injects the chemical solution to a substrate 221 and a second interception member 232 that is disposed adjacent to the inlet of the second chamber 202 to intercept the fumes from discharging to the outside of the second chamber 202 and being introduced from the outside are passed inside the second chamber 202. The third chamber 203 and the fourth chamber 204 have the same structure as the second chamber 202, and therefore a description thereof is not required.

The first interception member 231 and the second interception member 232 include a pipe in which suction holes for sucking gas are formed, similar to the interception member of the above-mentioned first exemplary embodiment.

According to the second exemplary embodiment, when the first interception member 231 is installed in the first chamber 201, it can prevent the fumes from being introduced into the first chamber 201, and when the second interception member 232 is installed inside the second chamber 202, the third chamber 203, and the fourth chamber 204, it can prevent the fumes from being discharged to or introduced from the outside of the chambers 202, 203, and 204 through the inlet. Thereby, the present invention can stably prevent the occurrence of etching defects when fumes are introduced into an adjacent chamber.

FIG. 7 is a configuration view showing an etching apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, an etching apparatus 300 according to the third exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of chambers 301, 302, 303, and 304 that include a first chamber 301, a second chamber 302, a third chamber 303, and a fourth chamber 304. The first chamber 301 is a buffer chamber in which a substrate 321 is held, and the second chamber 302, the third chamber 303, and the fourth chamber 304 are chambers in which the etching is performed.

The third chamber 303 and the fourth chamber 304 are formed with the same structure as the second chamber 302, and therefore descriptions thereof will be omitted here.

An injection member 350 that injects the chemical solution to the substrate 321, a first interception member 331 that is disposed adjacent to the outlet of the second chamber 302 to intercept the fumes from being introduced or discharged to and from the second chamber 302, and a second interception member 332 that is disposed adjacent to the inlet of the second chamber 302 to intercept the fumes from being discharged and introduced from and into the outside of the second chamber 302 are installed in the second chamber 302. The first interception member 331 and the second interception member 332 include the pipe in which a suction hole for sucking gas is formed, similar to the interception member of the above-mentioned first exemplary embodiment. The first interception member 331 and the second interception member 332 suck gas that is distributed through the inlet or the outlet.

According to the third exemplary embodiment, when the first interception member 331 and the second interception member 332 are installed in the second chamber 302, the third chamber 303, and the fourth chamber 304, it can prevent the fumes from being discharged to the outside of the chambers 302, 303, and 304 through the inlet or the outlet as well as the fumes from being introduced into the chambers 302, 303, and 304 through the inlet or the outlet.

When only some etching chambers among all the etching chambers perform the etching work, such as when the etching work is performed only in the third chamber 303, the fumes can be prevented from being discharged from the third chamber 303 and be prevented from being introduced into the second chamber 302 and the fourth chamber 304.

In addition, only the first interception member 331 is installed in the first chamber 301 that is the buffer chamber. The etching process is not performed in the first chamber 301, and therefore it is sufficient to intercept the fumes from being introduced into the first chamber 301. Therefore, the first interception member 331 is installed to intercept the fumes from being introduced into the first chamber 301.

While this disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. An etching apparatus, comprising: a plurality of chambers having an opening that is opened to move in or discharge a substrate; an injection member installed inside each chamber of the plurality of chambers to inject a chemical liquid; and an interception member that is adjacently installed at the opening of each chamber plurality of chambers and sucks gas introduced into the opening of each chamber of the plurality of chambers.
 2. The etching apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an acid outlet that is installed in each chamber of the plurality of chambers to suck fumes generated in each chamber of the plurality of chambers.
 3. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interception member is formed in a pipe shape in which a plurality of suction holes are formed.
 4. The etching apparatus of claim 3, wherein the opening is formed in a quadrangular shape having a width direction and a height direction, and the interception member is disposed along the width direction of the opening and the suction hole is disposed to be spaced along the width direction of the opening.
 5. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interception member is installed on the opening in the chamber based on the direction of the force of gravity.
 6. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opening is an outlet through which the substrate is discharged and the interception member is adjacently disposed to the outlet.
 7. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opening includes an inlet through which the substrate is moved in and the interception member is adjacently disposed to the inlet.
 8. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opening includes the inlet through which the substrate is moved in and the outlet through which the substrate is discharged, and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to the inlet and the outlet, respectively.
 9. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interception member is installed with a cover that covers the interception member.
 10. The etching apparatus of claim 9, wherein the upper surface of the cover is formed to be tilted with respect to the ground.
 11. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein The plurality of chambers include an etching chamber in which the substrate of the etching process is performed and a buffer chamber in which the substrate is temporarily held, the etching chamber and the buffer chamber each include an inlet through which the substrate is discharged and an outlet through which the substrate is moved in, and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to the inlet of the etching chamber and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to an outlet of the buffer chamber.
 12. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein The plurality of chambers include an etching chamber in which the substrate of the etching process is performed and a buffer chamber in which the substrate is temporarily held, the etching chamber and the buffer chamber each include an inlet through which the substrate is moved in and an outlet through which the substrate is discharged, and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to the inlet and outlet of the etching chamber, respectively, and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to an outlet of the buffer chamber.
 13. An etching apparatus, comprising: a buffer chamber in which a substrate is temporarily held having an opening that is opened to move in or discharge the substrate; a plurality of etching chambers each having another opening that is opened to move in or discharge a substrate; a plurality of injection members installed inside each chamber of the plurality of etching chambers to inject a chemical liquid; and a plurality of interception members positioned immediately adjacent to the another opening of each chamber plurality of etching chambers and the opening of the buffer chamber that extracts gas introduced into the another opening of each chamber of the plurality of etching chambers and the opening of the buffer chamber.
 14. The etching apparatus of claim 13, wherein the buffer chamber and the plurality of etching chambers each include an inlet through which the substrate is discharged and an outlet through which the substrate is moved in, and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to the inlet of the etching chamber and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to an outlet of the buffer chamber.
 15. The etching apparatus of claim 13, wherein the buffer chamber and the plurality of etching chambers each include an inlet through which the substrate is moved in and an outlet through which the substrate is discharged, and each of the plurality of interception members is installed at a position adjacent to an inlet and outlet of each the plurality of etching chambers, respectively, and the interception member is installed at a position adjacent to an outlet of the buffer chamber.
 16. The etching apparatus of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of interception members is coupled to a vacuum pump that provides suction pressure.
 17. The etching apparatus of claim 13, wherein the opening of the buffer chamber and the another opening of each of the plurality of etching chambers is shaped as a quadrangle having a width direction and a height direction, wherein the width direction is a direction intersecting the direction of the force of gravity and the height direction is a direction parallel with the direction of the force of gravity, and wherein each of the plurality of interception members is positioned immediately adjacent to the width direction of the opening of the buffer chamber and the another opening of each of the plurality of etching chambers.
 18. The etching apparatus of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of interception members is positioned above the opening of the buffer chamber and the another opening of each of the plurality of etching chambers, wherein above is a position furthest from the force of gravity and below is a position nearest the force of gravity. 